Canada's Greatest Wartime Muddle
National Selective Service and the Mobilization of Human Resources during World War II
Description
To determine the government's commitment to a comprehensive mobilization strategy, Stevenson considers the effect of NSS policies on eight significant sectors of the Canadian population: Native Canadians, university students, war industry workers, coal miners, longshoremen, meatpackers, hospital nurses, and textile workers. These case studies show that mobilization officials achieved only a limited number of their regulatory goals and that Ottawa's attempt to organize and allocate the nation's military and civilian human resources on a rational, orderly, and efficient scale was largely ineffective. This detailed assessment of the effect of NSS activities on a broad cross-section of Canadian society provides a fresh perspective on the domestic impact of the Second World War. It will appeal to a wide range of readers interested in Canada's economic, military, social, and political history.
Reviews
"A considerable achievement ... Stevenson has pillaged a grand collection of primary sources for this work, and supports it with a good sampling of secondary material. His work in several areas has, to the best of my knowledge, never been equalled." Dean F. Oliver, Canadian War Museum "An original and significant contribution to knowledge." Stephen Harris, chief historian, director of History and Heritage, National Defense